Staff Photo by Vinny Tennis
From left in the front row Virginia Grant and Carlisle Holling, in the back row Mary Myers, Nancy McLaughlin and Margi Watters are members of the Friends of Chester Springs Library, a volunteer fundraising group.

The Friends of Chester Springs Library will hold an Estate Sale this weekend on Friday, April 4 through Sunday, April 6 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. pm at Tom Oates Automotive Center. But while this is just one of many fundraisers for the library, it’s particularly important because the library has been operating at a deficite due to funding cuts in recent years, according to Len Olsen, President of the Chester Springs Library Board.

“The library is situated in Historic Yellow Springs and it provides for the community a hub. It’s has become a gathering place,” said Margi Watters a member of the Friends of Chester Springs Library which is a volunteer fundraising group.

“It’s personalizing to our community,” she said, which is why the Friends are fighting so hard to save it.

Within the Chester County Library system are 16 members and 18 library facilities – two of those members have a branch location. Library funding from the state and county is distributed among the 16 members according to a four part formula.

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“Our formula is something we put together with input from all the member libraries,” said Joseph Sherwood, director of the library system.

The formula considers: the amount of money spent providing library services; the service area of the library; the library’s usage determined by circulation, program attendance and door count; and the library’s financial need.

However those funds don’t wholly cover the costs. The Phoenixville library is the only one to receive money from its school district, but other funding sources include municipal bodies, fundraising and private donations.

But when looking for fundraising ideas, Sherwood encourages each library location to look at its community and see what works for them.

“There isn’t any one thing. Each community is a little bit different,” he said. “Basically look at what works in your community. What kind of people are you trying to get at? And what kind of events are going to get them involved?”

Unfortunately for the Chester Springs Library, its fundraising efforts have not made up the difference in budget cuts, and the West Pikeland Township board has provided the library less money due to the recent economic climate, according to Ernie Holling, chairman of the board of supervisors for West Pikeland. However the library board has requested a township tax solely for the library via a petition.

“Under the library act there is a provision where the people in a township can request a tax to exclusively support the library,” said Holling.

The petition was successful, getting enough support to move it to a referendum on the ballot in May’s primary election.

“I do believe it is important for the people of West Pikeland to decide whether they want a library or not,” said Holling.

According to a recent study by the Pew Research Center, library use is down but communities still value its services. Forty-eight percent of Americans visited a library or bookmobile in person in 2013, which was down from 53 percent in 2012. However, more people have used library websites, and 90 percent of Americans said if their local library closed it would affect the community.

As computers and social media have dominated in the digital age, Sherwood said that the libraries have implemented social outreach into its programs.

“Millennials want to be engaged and part of solutions,” he said. “We’ve tried to engage them in social media and activities.”

But while there is talk of books going away, Sherwood doesn’t see this as a detriment to public libraries.

“If you sit back a second and you look at it, we spend our day on the computer, on our iPhones,” he said. “You’re reading. We’re constantly gathering information.”

The venue for gathering that information may be different, but the need is still great. Libraries are there to help people make informed decisions, he said, by giving them the appropriate resources. Whether those resources are for research, children’s programs or finding old movie titles, Sherwood said the library is there to make the community’s life easier.

“I think that’s what we’re here for,” Sherwood said. “I think we will continue to have a role for a long time to come.”

Follow Daily Local features reporter Chelsea M. Reyher on Twitter @DailyLocalCMR and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ChelseaMReyher.